Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connection configuration including an electrical connection element for connecting an electrical assembly accommodated in a housing, in particular a transmission housing of a motor vehicle, to an electrical peripheral system disposed outside the housing.
In motor vehicle technology, it is often necessary to establish electrical connections to components which are accommodated in a sealed housing. By way of example, in the case of electronically controlled automatic transmissions of passenger cars, a sensor system present in the transmission housing as well as mechanical actuating elements present therein have to be connected to an electrical peripheral system disposed outside the transmission housing. That makes it necessary to lead voltage supply lines, as well as control signal lines in the case of a transmission control unit disposed outside the transmission housing, through a transmission wall into an interior of the transmission. For that purpose, use is made of special transmission connectors which are inserted into holes in the transmission wall. Those connectors have a comparatively complicated configuration since it is necessary for both the connection between the hole and the outer side of the connector and the contact pin fittings integrated in the connector, to be oil-tight.
For some time there has been a trend toward relocating the control electronics for the automatic transmission to a greater and greater extent in the interior of the transmission. In that case, it is no longer necessary to pass the signals supplied by the sensor system of the transmission out of the interior of the transmission. However, an electrical lead-through from the outside into the interior of the transmission cannot be dispensed with in such a structure either. In the case of such "on site" electronics, the problem additionally arises that the control electronics have to be accommodated in their own control-unit housing so that they are protected against the extremely aggressive additives which are added to the transmission oils. That necessitates further electrical bushings, which are generally constructed in the form of oil-tight plug connections on the control-unit housing.
European Patent 0 513 263 B1 describes a fuel injection pump in which electrical conductors in the form of conductor tracks applied on a flexible conductor sheet are guided through a sealing gap between a housing and a housing cover into the interior of the housing. That document relates neither to a transmission housing nor to the case where a plurality of electrical components are present in the housing. Furthermore, the control electronics which are used for the fuel injection pump described in that document are situated outside the sealed housing region.